Why Android Smartphones Continue to Dominate the Market

If you are using a Smartphone, then the probability of the phone being android is about 85%. That is according to statistics from Strategy Analytics released in the year 2018. Since the entry of Google into the Smartphone business, the Android platform has continually grown its market share in expense of its rivals that include iOS from Apple, BlackBerry OS, Windows Mobile OS, and the recently introduced Firefox OS.To understand the dominance of Android over its competitors, it is prudent to examine the Smartphone industry from three different perspectives. These include the perspective of the hardware manufacturers, the app developers perspective, and the customers or users perspective. These three angles will help us understand why most manufacturers want to use android, we have a myriad of Android developers and millions of Android smartphone users. Android Smartphone hardware manufacturersAndroid mobile operating system is based on Linux kernel, which is open sourcing. Therefore, unlike other mobile operating systems that require a consent from the OS developer, Android is open to all hardware manufacturers who meet their standard requirements. Android Smartphone often run on ARM architecture processor, but recently Intel has started to operate the platform.The open nature of Android has attracted hundreds of Smartphone hardware manufacturers. The manufacturers compete against each other in the market based on the hardware specification of the handset. Therefore, handset features such as the size of the Smartphone, the size of the processor, camera pixels, memory size, battery performance etc, defines the success of the different hardware vendors using Android. Samsung leads the list of the top Smartphone hardware manufacturers using the android platform. Other leading hardware manufacturers using androids OS include HTC, Huawei, Sony, LG, Motorola, and ZTE.The flexible Android OS allows Smartphone hardware manufacturers to have a variety of phones targeting both the high-end and low-end parts of the market. Therefore, manufacturers are able to make maximum sales from different markets in the world. In addition, the flexibility of android allows users to be able to upgrade from a lower version of android operating system to a higher version without the need to change handsets. Smartphone hardware manufacturers are also enticed by the large number of users who are familiar with the Android platform. Change is one thing many people are not ready to face, especially in regards to technology. Many users have become accustomed to the android interface. Smartphone hardware manufacturers have realized this tendency and so want to continue making devices that operate on the android platform to retain their customers. Smartphone Application developersIf there is one thing that has made smartphones to click with the market, then it must be apps. Thanks to Smartphone, mobile device users have the option of choosing the type of application they want installed on the devices. Behind these applications is a dedicated team of independent developers who profit from the sale of their applications to both manufacturers and users. Currently, there are over 1.3 million apps on Android’s Google play. Individuals who are attracted by the opportunities of the msartphone market develop all these applications. Android attracts thousands of developers from different parts of the world with a promise to make a fortune out of their successful applications. There are over 1.5 billion downloads of applications from different android Smartphone users spread across over 190 countries. Developers have option of either selling their apps directly on Google play or earn from in-app contents available on their free applications.To assist the developers, Android provides them with training and the resources to come up with the applications. Those who successfully publish their applications have the opportunity of reaching out to millions of users using Android Smartphone. This is the reason developers will strive to come up with the best applications for Smartphone using the Android platform. Smartphone users statistics point to a growing number of Smartphone users in the world. Strategic Analytics survey indicated that the number of smart phone users grew by 27% in the year 2018. Majority of the new users are from Africa and Asia where the Smartphone market is growing vibrantly. New users in Europe and America are few because the two markets have reached their maturity stage in the product growth curve.The number of new android Smartphone users almost coincides with the total new Smartphone users. Actually, in 2018, the other mobile operating systems recorded a drop in users while android saw its numbers grow. Analysts of the Smartphone market argue that it would take miracles from the other operating systems to catch up with Android. Smartphone users, manufacturers, and apps developers have all fallen in love with android.A key reason why users have stuck with android Smartphone is the value the devices offer. Users have a wide field of android Smartphone devices to choose from and once they get the device, in addition, they get the widest collection of apps to download. This aspect of android competitors will take time to beat. Furthermore, android continues to improve on its Smartphone by upgrading the OS on a regular basis. Users enjoy new versions of android operating systems released frequently by Google. As earlier noted, new Smartphone users are mostly from Africa and Asia. These are regions where a good number of developing countries are located. Majority of people in these parts of the world cannot afford very expensive phones. Android Smartphone come in different versions to capture both ends of the market. This has greatly contributed to the wide usage of Android Smartphone. While it is impossible to get a cheap blackberry or iOS Smartphone costing under $100, it is very easy to get numerous android Smartphones with such low pricing. It is clear from the reasons above that Android Smartphone will continue to rule the market. However, we must appreciate the roles played by other Smartphone operating systems. Despite the tremendous achievements of android Smartphone, the competitors also play a significant role in the development of the industry standards. For example, iphones continue to offer the best for the high end users and Blackberry is a favorite of many business people because of its security features.